Phyllis Diller [1917-2012]

Artist: Phyllis Diller

LP: Phyllis Diller Laughs

Track: "Driving Downtown"

[ listen ]

Last week I called Phyllis and told her that I had one of her LPs I'd been wanting to post here, and she said was dying to be featured on my blog. Phyllis first came to public attention when she appeared on Groucho Marx's televised quiz show "You Bet Your Life," after which she paved the way...well, it's hard to imagine Phyllis Diller paving anything. Phyllis blazed the trail, shall we say, for women in standup comedy for generations to come. (Phyllis was nothing if not a blazer.) Ten interesting facts about Phyllis Diller: 1.) She was born in Lima, Ohio. (I've been there!) 2.) She was an accomplished concert pianist and played with over 100 orchestras throughout the country in the 1970s and early '80s. 3.) She also played the saxophone. 4.) In 1967 she starred with her friend Bob Hope in a terrible, terrible movie called EIGHT ON THE LAM. 5.) In 1979 she auditioned for director Blake Edwards in hopes of starring in his new movie, but the part went to Bo Derek instead. 6.) For some reason this guy shows up when you Google images of "Phyllis Diller pianist." 7.) Diller went under the knife for plastic surgery fifteen times during her life. 8.) She was born 3 months and 11 days after the United States of America declared war on Germany in WWI. 9.) Her "Phyllis Diller Laughs" LP was recorded at the Bon Soir nightclub in NYC's Greenwich Village 52 years ago, in March of 1961. 10.) Phyllis used to joke that she never made it on "Who's Who," but she did end up on "What's That." You can read all about Phyllis Diller's brilliant career on Wikipedia here and go here to find a nice obituary for her in the New York Times.

Phyllis Diller

[July 17, 1917 — August 20, 2012]

We will miss you, Phyllis...probably even more than we'll miss Kitty or Chavela.

Heintje Simons

Artist: Heintje Simons

LP: Ich Denk an Dich

Song: "Hey Mister"

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I've been gallivanting all over Europe these past few weeks, via my record collection, weeding out LPs from my overcrowded Italy, Germany, and "other" sections. Next, I'm off to France! This 1973 record by the sensational singing Dutch tot Heintje (by now an elderly 18-year-old) was one of the things I had to send off to boarding school to make more room. Like Loretta Lynn, Heintje was a coal miner's daughter—er, son—and the young singer's immense popularity and fame lifted his family from the depths of poverty. You can read more about Heintje Simons here, listen to another one of his songs from an earlier posting here, and I've still got several pre-'70s Heintje LPs on my shelves, so you'll probably be seeing him again real soon.

Nancy Walker

Artist: Nancy Walker

LP: I Hate Men

Song: "You Irritate Me So"

[ listen ]

Born in Philadelphia in 1922, Nancy Walker was raised in high vaudevillian style by her father, showman Dewey Barto of the comedic dance act Barto & Mann. Nancy made her Broadway debut in "Best Foot Forward" in 1941, and stayed with the show when it became a movie starring Lucille Ball two years later. This provided Walker with her first film role, after which she went on to a five-decade-long career as singer, actress, entertainer, and comedian in stage, television, and film. Most people probably remember Nancy from TV shows like "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda," but those were too sophisticated for me and I wasn't allowed to watch them. I grew up knowing Nancy as the lady with the really strong and absorbent paper towels--"the quicker picker-uppers." Some may also remember Nancy Walker as the director of the spectacular cinematic disco fiasco CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC, though I bet she would probably prefer that you didn't. This man-hating-themed LP was released in 1959, and its cover is reportedly considered to be one of the worst ever made, which of course automatically makes it one of the best. You can read all about Nancy Walker's life and career and see what other movies and shows she appeared in (like this one!) by visiting Wikipedia here.

[ Nancy Walker: May 10, 1922 — March 25, 1992 ]

Haruo Minami

Artist: Haruo Minami

LP: Let's Dance the Ondo Together For the World's Fair

Song: "Tokyo Olympic Ondo"

[ listen ]

Olympics, Olympics, Olympics. I don't know about you, but I'm kinda glad it's finally over. Since I don't get any TV channels, I pretty much missed the entire thing, but I did fortuitously happen to catch a glimpse of the Italian men's volleyball team one morning while I was at the gym. They all look like underwear models! Then yesterday I spent a little time on the elliptical machine and got to see Evgeniya Kanaeva's incredible gold-medal-winning performance with a hula-hoop in the Individual All-Around Rhythmic Gymnastics competition. I'd never seen this sort of thing in the Olympics or anywhere else before, and I was totally mesmerized. I kept imagining how many times I would have accidentally sent that hoop flying into the bleachers if I ever dared to attempt such a routine. The performance was so otherworldly, beautiful, and strange (especially with no music or crowd noise), it was like watching science fiction!

Does anyone remember the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo? Maybe the theme song will jog your memory—you can listen and then download it to use as your ringtone here. If singer Haruo Minami were still alive, he would remember the 1964 Olympics. Haruo, a popular performer of enka music (not to be confused with the Anka music of the west) had a hit with "Tokyo Olympic Ondo" (lyrics included below) which was very likely played to death during the internationally televised 1964 event. The song was also included on this terrific Haruo Minami album full of ondo music a few years later. There are instructions inside the LP for learning to dance various types of ondos; I've included one of my favorites below. The album also features a track called "Ondo for the World's Fair," which I'm assuming was prepared for the 1970 Expo in Osaka (see some neat photos of Expo '70 here). Haruo reportedly caused quite a stir by performing in a kimono, which Japanese men just weren't doing in the 1950s and '60s. Everyone eventually got used to the idea though, and Minami even enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the early '90s when his songs were featured in the "Super Zugan," animated TV show. You can read more about Haruo Minami here and find an interesting music-video-type-thing for "Tokyo Olympic Ondo" below. This posting is dedicated to my friend Aki, who gave me a vinyl-to-mp3 turntable for my birthday earlier this week. "Tokyo Olympic Ondo" is the first file produced by my new apparatus, and I'm looking forward to its modern convenience allowing me to post more regularly again, and not just whenever somebody dies. Thanks, Aki!

Haruo Minami on YouTube:

[ "Tokyo Olympic Ondo" ]

 [ Haruo Minami: July 19, 1923 — April 14, 2001 ]

Chavela Vargas [1919-2012]

Artist: Chavela Vargas

LP: Noche Bohemia

Song: "La China"

[ listen ]

The first time I heard Chavela Vargas was when I saw Pedro Almodovar's film, LA FLOR DE MI SECRETO in 1995. I was captivated by her gravely voice and the raw emotion conveyed through her singing. Sadly, Chavela (or sometimes "Chabela," it seems) died earlier this week; she was 93 years old. Born in 1919 in Costa Rica, Chavela fled to Mexico City when she was 14 years old. Known for wearing men's clothing, smoking cigars, and packing heat, Chavela became a fixture in the city's vibrant bohemian nightlife of the 1950s and '60s. She disappeared from public life in the 1970s and '80s, drifting through a 15-year alcoholic haze somewhere in the state of Morelos. Nursed back to health through the kindness of strangers, Chavela rose to international stardom again in the 1990s, due to vigorous promotion by the aforementioned Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, who considered Chavela his muse. Ms. Vargas declared her lesbianism publicly in the year 2000--when she was 81 years old. "I was born this way. Since I opened my eyes to the world, I have never slept with a man. Never. Just imagine what purity. I have nothing to be ashamed of," she told a Spanish newspaper. You can read all about the life and career of Chavela Vargas here, find her New York Times obituary here, and go here to read a nice piece about the singer in the Los Angeles Times. Spanish and English liner notes from the back of the 1961 "Noche Bohemia" LP are included below, along with a clip of Chavela performing in an "exclusive Mexican bohemian nightclub" in 1968.

Chavela Vargas on YouTube:

[ "Macorina / Los Peces en el Río" ]

Chavela Vargas

[April 17, 1919 — August 5, 2012]

We will miss you, Chavela.

Kitty Wells [1919-2012]

 Artist: Kitty Wells

LP: The Kitty Wells Story

Song: "Amigo's Guitar"

[ listen ]

Song: "I Gave My Wedding Dress Away"

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I was sad to hear on the radio yesterday morning that Kitty Wells, the Queen of Country Music, had died. She was 92 years old. With so many decades of Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Lacy J. Dalton music wafting over the airwaves, it's hard to imagine there was ever a time when women were not the glittery centerpieces of country and western music. But it was man and man alone who topped the charts in Nashville until 1952, when Kitty came along with a big hit song that only a woman could sing: "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." The tune is basically a retort from the female perspective, after years of listening and silently enduring as the whiny men of Kentucky and Tennessee crooned about their bad women, lonely teardrops, and their sad and broken hearts. Kitty, a Nashville native herself, piped up on behalf of women everywhere to point out that, actually, 9 times out of 10 when there's a broken heart and teardrops to be found, there's a wanderin', cheatin', man with a wayward penis who's responsible for the mess. I think she's right. Anyway, Kitty's message caught on, she hit #1, and the rest, as they say, is history. You can read more about the life and career of the lovely and talented Kitty Wells in the liner notes from this terrific double-LP I picked up in Sioux Falls a few summers ago. There's even more about Ms. Wells on Wikipedia here, you can visit the Kitty Wells website here, see a list of all her singles and their peak chart positions here, and go here to find her obituary in the L.A. Times. Sorry I haven't been posting anything here these past few weeks, I've been looking for a job. If you know anyone who wants to hire a Kitty Wells fan, please have them send me an email.

Kitty Wells on YouTube:

[ "There's Poison In Your Heart" ]

Kitty Wells

[August 30, 1919 — July 16, 2012]

We will miss you, Kitty.